Something needs to be said.

When I started skating freestyle I did it because it was so unique and it caught my eye. I was so stoked on what everyone was doing. I would log on to the f-forum, and everyone seem to be psyched about everyone's progress, and they'd help encourage the beginners (such as me.) Mind you, this was a few years ago, but still, something has changed.

When I look at the freestyle scene today, it seems far less welcoming. You're disliked for the smallest thing. You do classic flips, people mock you. You call it a primo, or heaven forbig, a REEMO, and everyone instantly hates you. You skate a sk8kings and you're a newbie. You don't do enough rolling tricks and you're unrounded. You're name is Tony Gale and...well, I won't even go there.

The point is, when did freestyle skateboarding stop having so much brotherhood, and start getting divisive? Sure, it's funny that the kid says primo instead of HS railstand, but do we really need to mock him? Can't we teach him, and be excited that another skater wants to try out freestyle, and it seems to be on the rise?

I just see so much hatred it seems like. Dan Gezmer skates a bit odd, sure. Who knows, maybe he's even gay. Does that give us any good reason to make fun of his skating?

This kind of thing happens in all types of skating, sure, but I remember when it, at least SEEMINGLY, didn't happen as much in freestyle. And I miss those days.

From what I hear others agree with me, but many are scared to say anything about it, because they are instantly shot down. Others might not know how to word it.

Am I complaining too much, or is this legitimate?
Merging doublepost
P.S. I'm not saying the freestyle scene is all bad, either. I see everyone getting hyped on the inspirational Dylan Jones, I see Keith giving out free boards, I see a lot of good in the scene. That's what I think is worth saving.

both complaining and legitimate
but it does need to be said

all skating right now is like this
if you go to the skatepark and your goofing off and just doing lame stalls and calf wraps and stuff. people are gunna hate and look at you crooked eyed.
on the internet people are gunna do the same thing
people on youtube mock others for doing ****ed up flip tricks like kiwi but in person i doubt anyone would say anything
on the internet people talk alot of mess or mock other skaters
weither its talk down to them for being n00bs or making videos to mock them it happens everywhere not just here
you gotta get past what people say and do what you want
when i started fs and came here a year or so ago i thought a carosel was a nose 360
i got my ass handed to me in a hat
Merging doublepost

P.S. I'm not saying the freestyle scene is all bad, either. I see everyone getting hyped on the inspirational Dylan Jones, I see Keith giving out free boards, I see a lot of good in the scene. That's what I think is worth saving.

to be honest
i really dont think people should be inspired by me
this sounds super lame but idc
i get siked on people who get me siked
even if they arent good.. if their trying i get hyped
panda,a7,jake,emily,all them are super tight and make me want to fs

but theres other people with bad additudes who really embaress me
and make me not want to be part of the scene
=/

I don't really see it. The f-forum is pretty much the same, but there just aren't as many people there anymore. and it's not like it used to be nothing but hugs and rainbows before, anyway.

i still think the freestyle community is much closer and friendly than any other kind of forum ive ever been on

I say it began when people began hating fs for its difficulty or when people began losing the point of skateboarding, period.

(Boy, I hate cheesy lines, but here it goes... )

"Skateboarding to have fun and express oneself through your own creativity" - Unknown

I try to be as friendly as possible, and if other people have a bad attitude I usually ignore it and chalk it up to it being their own problem.

I won't criticize people for being wrong with trick names or anything like that, but it gets really annoying to hear people say primo for railstand.

I also hate youtube, it can just give such a mis representation of what skating is, and putting a video on there is an invitation to be flamed, no matter how good you are.

I really don't think it's that bad. Outside of youtube, and in grown-up land (where people are mature enough not to be *******s) I think its freaking awesome. I've gotten tons of help from witter with decks and stuff, etc. etc.

I think the freestyle forum is very friendly; however, I recall going on the freestyle forum a little while ago, browsing some threads, and saw people making fun of this dude because he didn't land some tricks correctly, picking out all these little things, people saying "Oh hey, you suck." It was completely uncalled for. If you're going to be harsh about it, give the guy some tips on how to get better and improve, it's not like he said he was the greatest skater in the world and being all mighty about it. Shame on you if you just put someone down like that, would you want me to tell you that you suck completely? I don't think so.

Well first off thanks for adding the "sisterhood" part for me Daniel. :) And Dylan, that means a lot that I'm one of the people who get you hyped to skate fs. That means a lot. :) But to the topic at hand, I do see where you're coming from with this thread. I do still find the freestyle community overall very open and welcoming, but there are a few people who do get a little.. let's say snippy, with comments and posts sometimes. But I think this is going to happen in ANY type of skateboarding, sport, activity, whatever. Hopefully we can just try to fix it some. I do understand where some snippy comments/remarks may come from because to be honest it does get kind of frustrating when new people will come on and make like 3 threads asking questions that have been answered a million times in other threads, BUT intead of getting let's say snippy again, we just need to learn to lead these people in the right direction because they are new and as frustrating as it may be, we don't want to be mean and scare them or turn them off to FS. And again when new people post videos, although some things may not be the cleanest, it's best to give them CONSTRUCTIVE feedback as that will help them improve and try to find at least one nice thing to say and if you can't think of anything nice to say then it may be best to just not say anything at all. I understand that it bothers some people to see tricks done wrong or called the wrong name, but thoughtful constructive feedback is what will help. I know I'm always looking for it to improve my skating. Anyways.. sorry for ranting/complaining too. This is just such a small community and I feel like we should do what we can to welcome and accept others.... And holy cow.. sorry for writing so much. :)

I agree. Even though I don't skate FS, I still love to see videos, browse threads and such. I could kill off a whole hour watchin FS videos.

But, some people just really confuse me. For one, if MRCK did a 360 kiwiflip to bs shuv it or whatever, you would know it takes some major technical skills right? However, usually, i would go through comments and see people go "stop technical, you suck" or something of the sort, which would confuse me.

First, the guy who commented is probably a skater. Wouldn't skaters know by now there are lots of different styles of skating, and you shouldn't be hard on people for it?
Second, how the hell does MRCK suck? that's just...plain stupid.

Same goes to any FS skaters. I see lots of comments under it saying the same thing.

You all speak truth! Johnny...thanks man I am honored :)

This community I have to say is extremely respectful and you can feel the love, like a family of freestyle skateboarders. I understand how it is bothersome, why wouldn't it be? The thing I see with freestyle is that people think it's too 'old school'.
Well it's not like everyone is riding hoverboards in the world and 3 of us are the only people on earth riding skateboards haha.

Anyways, it is good to complain cause its not like your saying "oh this community needs better ppl screw noobs why they here blah blah' thats complaining the wrong way lol.
This community we have here has talent, potential talent, new aspiring skaters who are taking a bold step in learning this creative style of skateboarding.
Over the years, I have been trying to keep up with freestyle, and I have to admit it was smaller back when then it is now, at least as far as I am concerned.
I remember my first board, had some really thick wood, huge and had tracker trucks which I haven't seen in years haha.

I made fs popular in my high school and my town for about 5 months...then only me and one other guy did it named James. And well off the point a bit, I just got back in touch with him too hehe.
Anyways, what we need to do is keep this community safe, anyone posing a flame/disrespect towards a new fs'r needs to be confronted via PM maybe or via the topic. I still mispronounce things because it's what I grew up knowing.

Truckstand, One handed truckstand(my own version of what I know now is 50/50 :P) primo(both ways hehe) and I used to do casper 360 flips...ooh yeeeeaaah you know the ones where your foot is completely on the ground.
Anyways, all I have to say after all that random text above...is keep this community going strong, inspire one another more and more and inspire those who do not freestyle, that check these boards out...to go out and give it a try and maybe they'll experience how we feel about it.
This is a grand expression of creativity, this is our way, street skaters, have their way, ramp/vert skaters, thats their way...this is ours.
New, AM or Pro...who cares? We don't all have perfect balance, we don't all have correct footing, we don't all learn really quickly, and alot of people don't have the time to skate either.

So...be kind, be respectful, if you want to bag on someone for a trick just tell them (Hey...did ya know truckstands are called NH 50/50's?) Not (Your such a noob, its called rail not reemo or primo god and your foot hit wtf?) I actually get a weird chuckle when I hear ppl say things like that cause it's just...uuuuhm are you perfect?
Answer = no like I said above we all have different styles, if we all had the same it'll be boring to watch eachothers progression.

Lets progress as fs's, and as a community of brothers and sisters! YES! EPIC POSTS GALORE!

Love ya all!

Haha, yes! These are the kinds of posts I was hoping for. Thanks for seeing where I was giong so well, guys.

i love daniel jones <3

i love daniel jones <3
Incest. =)

i love daniel jones <3


Haha, I don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but heck, I LOVE YOU TOO! :)

By the way guys, I'm almost done with a new video! :D

Footage from the OTHER D. Jones, lol.

Haha, I don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but heck, I LOVE YOU TOO! :)

By the way guys, I'm almost done with a new video! :D

Footage from the OTHER D. Jones, lol.
Can't wait man. I hope its out soon. I have yet to see a FS part by you.

I can only speak as a newcomer, but it appears to me that the FS crowd is very friendly and welcoming. There are haters anywhere you go, especially on the net.

What makes the FS community unique is not the absence of haters, but the many cool people who are constructive and friendly.

Mike Osterman e-mailed me back to answer dumb questions about his deck.
Jeremy Elder was 100% cool about helping me design my FS deck.
Reverse Skate is so friendly and helpful.
This FS forum is 80~90% positive and constructive.

These are some of the reasons I love FS skating the the FS scene.

Haha, I don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but heck, I LOVE YOU TOO! :)

By the way guys, I'm almost done with a new video! :D

Footage from the OTHER D. Jones, lol.

twas no sarcasm
this thread brings a smile on my face and makes me remember why the fs community is so close
:icon_hug:

I don't know about the FS part in this but I see it definatly all the time with street skating. I don't wanna make a long post but I'll say this at my friends school there is skateboarding gangs. gangs of skateboards whereing different colors hating on eachother I mean WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ABOUt

Everyone in this thread has the right idea. It's too bad there's people who think they have the right to knock someone else for how they ride. Skateboarding has gotten competitive, and people are talking trash like this is basketball or something. So many people ride now, I guess it was inevitable that some jerks would get involved...

Haha, I don't know if this is sarcasm or not, but heck, I LOVE YOU TOO! :)

By the way guys, I'm almost done with a new video! :D

Footage from the OTHER D. Jones, lol.

Oh? Can't wait to see it, bro!

You're disliked for the smallest thing. You do classic flips, people mock you. You call it a primo, or heaven forbig, a REEMO, and everyone instantly hates you. You skate a sk8kings and you're a newbie. You don't do enough rolling tricks and you're unrounded. You're name is Tony Gale and...well, I won't even go there.

Most of that post is absolute bullcrap. I've never, EVER seen someone be mocked for doing a classic flip. I've never, and I dont know of anyone else. Hell, ALOT of people do classic flip variations. When you call it a primo or reemo, nobody hates you. They want to teach you the right way before you get a bad habit stuck in your head. Sure, the occasional idiot might come in and say 'Christ noob, get things straight, its a railstand.' but most often, its said in a rather calm manner. You skate a sk8kings and you're a newbie? Hell, I know ALOT of people who skate Sk8kings and plus, SK has one hell of a wicked team. The board you skate doesn't put ANY rank on your level of skating. Not enough rolling tricks makes you unrounded? No, because, its the same with street. If you can lazerflip but not do many kickflip variations, it doesn't mean you're unrounded. There are no specific tricks to be learnt in FS, you learn what you want. If I want to learn every damn casper trick ever, I'm going to do it. Unrounded is basicly a term people use when they think that you have to be good at footwork, rolling and stationary tricks or you end up being labeled 'unrounded. And Tony Gale? Well, what can I say. The dudes a legend, he's an incredibly skater and an incredible guy, whom I talk to occasionally.

I just see so much hatred it seems like. Dan Gezmer skates a bit odd, sure. Who knows, maybe he's even gay. Does that give us any good reason to make fun of his skating?

I don't see enough hatred to people that need to have something negative to be said to them. I've never even seen Dan skate before, but I have heard alot about him, so I can judge he skates oddly. But Callum Bowran makes a video parody and he's automatically jumped on by a whole dogpile of people, yet when someone makes a video that definatly lacks skill and style, people seem to just say 'Oh man, you're real good! Keep it up!' when instead, they could be saying 'I think you may need to work on your style, maybe learn some new tricks.' Negative criticism is what makes someone better, and instead of dishing it all out on Dan, why don't you spread some around?

on the internet people talk alot of mess or mock other skaters
weither its talk down to them for being n00bs or making videos to mock them it happens everywhere not just here
you gotta get past what people say and do what you want
when i started fs and came here a year or so ago i thought a carosel was a nose 360
i got my ass handed to me in a hat

*warning, extremely hypocritical points ahead* I actually have to agree with what Dylan says. I know he doesn't exactly look at me the same anymore *note his cheapshot at me at the very bottom of his post* but what he said about him getting his ass handed to him in a hat is exactly what happens to alot of us. As I said before, its not the right thing to do, but it does happen. Theres a diffence between an idiotic post and a harsh one. Nowadays, people get idiotic posts and not enough harsh ones. My good friend Callum is a fine example of a good, stong, opinionated poster. Callum is one of those guys who'll say whats on his mind, and I think the forum needs more people like that and less idiots.

And again when new people post videos, although some things may not be the cleanest, it's best to give them CONSTRUCTIVE feedback as that will help them improve and try to find at least one nice thing to say and if you can't think of anything nice to say then it may be best to just not say anything at all. I understand that it bothers some people to see tricks done wrong or called the wrong name, but thoughtful constructive feedback is what will help.

Yeah, exactly. Glad you agree. Now maybe, if more people could understand criticism like you do, maybe that huge war in your thread would never have happended. Some people don't understand criticism, and some should really learn to. What you sid about thoughtful constructive feedback is true too, there needs to more of that and less of these idiots who aren't any better telling others how to call a trick.

Anyways, it is good to complain cause its not like your saying "oh this community needs better ppl screw noobs why they here blah blah' thats complaining the wrong way lol.

This guy, is my favorite person in the world, and has been since the last big war. He's the only one who understands complaining in the right way and the wrong. Kudos to you Panda, you are very muchly loved :D

So...be kind, be respectful, if you want to bag on someone for a trick just tell them (Hey...did ya know truckstands are called NH 50/50's?) Not (Your such a noob, its called rail not reemo or primo god and your foot hit wtf?) I actually get a weird chuckle when I hear ppl say things like that cause it's just...uuuuhm are you perfect?
Answer = no like I said above we all have different styles, if we all had the same it'll be boring to watch eachothers progression.

What else can be said? This guy says the exact truth.

Brandon, if you go to the skatepark with a freestyle board and start doing just say classic flips, you're not always going to get good things said to you. Most kid's would say something like dude, wtf happened to your deck, or I bet you cant even ollie, and BS like that.

Mhm Brandon, I've seen the discrimination, it's even obvious on youtube, people are like "HAHA what kind of deck is that? a Wallmart deck?" but it's like "No, it's a freaking freestyle deck."

No offense, Brandon, but you've only been freestyling for such a short time. I know you want to defend Callum, but this post isn't directed at Callum. You've really misinterpreted almost everything I've said.
Merging doublepost
I also understand one problem you had with my thread.

I said, "You skate a sk8kings, you're a newbie."

That meant people VIEW YOU as a newbie. A negative stereotype. I can understand why you got mad if you thought I was honestly believing that you're a newbie if you skate sk8kings.

I've never, EVER seen someone be mocked for doing a classic flip. I've never, and I dont know of anyone else. Hell, ALOT of people do classic flip variations.

http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=EQ6jRlBs7i4

a short sample: "thats the gayest trick in the whole ****ing world"

Thanks Mr. Bran! hehe Much love to you too brother!

Alot of people actually dig freestyle, but there are those occasional stubborn people who think way to much and want perfection. That person will watch Rodney and say ZOMG HES GOD but they'll watch one of us and go "pff, Rodney wannabe, do a 13 stair your trick is nothing compared to that"

We will learn to not care about those people...this thread should help that too because it's making everyone here more aware of it, even people who may have done it themselved could view this thread as a "oh...my bad" type of thing lol

*song plays* we are family! *beat goes on*

I think the main thing is that freestyle is so different from what you usually see. Some people I've met at the park go "Woah, how on earth do you do that" at railflips I don't even land. And then others go "Dude go skate with your boyfriend." Bleh.

A freestyle community like this is a place you would expect to be understood. I think that's why we need to keep it flame-free. Not critisism free - if I post a video with sloppy tricks, I wouldn't want people telling me they were brilliant, I'd want a tip on how to fix it. But in a kinda friendly, headslapping-embarrassment way.

i agree with this forum 100%. i hate it when people tell me that classic flips are gay and stuff like that.

I agree. Even though I don't skate FS, I still love to see videos, browse threads and such. I could kill off a whole hour watchin FS videos.

But, some people just really confuse me. For one, if MRCK did a 360 kiwiflip to bs shuv it or whatever, you would know it takes some major technical skills right? However, usually, i would go through comments and see people go "stop technical, you suck" or something of the sort, which would confuse me.

First, the guy who commented is probably a skater. Wouldn't skaters know by now there are lots of different styles of skating, and you shouldn't be hard on people for it?
Second, how the hell does MRCK suck? that's just...plain stupid.

Same goes to any FS skaters. I see lots of comments under it saying the same thing.


*cough cough* my video

remember what you wrote swordman XD

anyway i have been skating freestyle a year but only just now have i realised that it is bigger than i imagined. i though that you couldn't get freestyle boards anymore and that there where no more contests but i guess i was wrong. i found that out when i joined this forum and sinse then i have come to realise that we are so friendly to each other is because we are trying to get freestyle back again and the only way to do that is to encorage each person to do better and that way you will be seen by companies and they it promotes freestyle.

eg.... promoting something will get people's attention so.....

the more we promote freestyle the more that ppl will get recodnised the more popular freestyle will become.

remember ppl we are trying to ressurect freestyle from the dark grave in which it once lied. so yeah everyone be friendly and who noe's give it a couple of years and we could see some of our freestylers on tv or in video parts.

i dont know what you people are talking about with classic flips
becouse yesterday i did a m80 on a steep bank at the skatepark and kids went nuts
haha..
then again i did it on a real board. . not a freestyle fake deck lulz

kidding about the fake deck ;)

What are you talking about?! Of course freestyle decks are fake!

^^ no they're wal-mart boards!
haha...Anyone else ever have kids ask you if your freestyle deck was a was a wal-mart board???

^^ no they're wal-mart boards!
haha...Anyone else ever have kids ask you if your freestyle deck was a was a wal-mart board???

I got that the other day (only they said K-mart which is our version of wal-mart) about my sk8kings gary holl deck.

I think I'm too new to add to this discussion but I will say this, when I signed up the other day, I received the warmest welcome I've ever had anywhere and have received helpful answers to all the 'newbie' questions i've PMed to people. As an avsolute newb, i feel very welcome here :)

^^ no they're wal-mart boards!
haha...Anyone else ever have kids ask you if your freestyle deck was a was a wal-mart board???

The best is when someone says you've got a fake board, then as you proceed to tell them it's a freestyle board, "There's no such thing as a freestyle board!" I guess we are all just riding on the loch ness monsters back without realizing it!

And most of the people on here are still very generous and helpful from what I've noticed, but I've only been here a couple weeks... The one big exception was Geo's video, which seemed to bring a lot of hate. Yes, the music was mind numbing and every trick being in slow motion was even more mind numbing but people went about telling him in a very mean way without really telling him how to make it better. And it shouldn't matter if there was street stuff in it, as Mullen has many times said, there's no defined way to skate, you do it your own way, how you want. Has everyone forgotten that?

Other than that I really enjoy this place and the people are really nice.

The best is when someone says you've got a fake board, then as you proceed to tell them it's a freestyle board, "There's no such thing as a freestyle board!" I guess we are all just riding on the loch ness monsters back without realizing it!

And most of the people on here are still very generous and helpful from what I've noticed, but I've only been here a couple weeks... The one big exception was Geo's video, which seemed to bring a lot of hate. Yes, the music was mind numbing and every trick being in slow motion was even more mind numbing but people went about telling him in a very mean way without really telling him how to make it better. And it shouldn't matter if there was street stuff in it, as Mullen has many times said, there's no defined way to skate, you do it your own way, how you want. Has everyone forgotten that?

Other than that I really enjoy this place and the people are really nice.

so someone does care about me :icon_clap

i think that all the pople who where around back when freestyle was popular are all working and making a living with the exeption of a few. so of course people are going to be like wtf? and say thats a fake board because it happens everywhere.

eg long story short i was pinned for tagging yet all i did was meet my friend at that same park. and the tags where already there.

anyway it is because they become confused and so the only thing they can say is "it's a fake board" or "your just trying to be like rodney mullen"

it is all just confusion in the end

The one big exception was Geo's video, which seemed to bring a lot of hate. Yes, the music was mind numbing and every trick being in slow motion was even more mind numbing but people went about telling him in a very mean way without really telling him how to make it better.

I don't remember all of the comments, but from the what I know, we all give constructive criticism. All of us doing it at the same time isn't hate. We can't express annoyance at a song without sounding hateful? It isn't any beef on Geo, it's just the song.

We did tell him how to make it better..take out the slow mo and song. lol.

I don't remember all of the comments, but from the what I know, we all give constructive criticism. All of us doing it at the same time isn't hate. We can't express annoyance at a song without sounding hateful? It isn't any beef on Geo, it's just the song.

We did tell him how to make it better..take out the slow mo and song. lol.

I read back through it and you're right. It wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered. And as for yourself Tyler, as you've just demonstrated here, you are probably one of the best people here when it comes to informing someone of anything.

Thanks for the compliment. :) Sometimes I feel I come off as argumentative, that really isn't my aim. :P

And Geo, I keep forgetting (since your video is on the second page), to watch that video again since you took out the slow motion. I'll probably just leave a comment on the video tomorrow instead of here since the thread is dying you could say.

both complaining and legitimate
but it does need to be said

all skating right now is like this
if you go to the skatepark and your goofing off and just doing lame stalls and calf wraps and stuff. people are gunna hate and look at you crooked eyed.
on the internet people are gunna do the same thing
people on youtube mock others for doing ****ed up flip tricks like kiwi but in person i doubt anyone would say anything
on the internet people talk alot of mess or mock other skaters
weither its talk down to them for being n00bs or making videos to mock them it happens everywhere not just here
you gotta get past what people say and do what you want
when i started fs and came here a year or so ago i thought a carosel was a nose 360
i got my ass handed to me in a hat
Merging doublepost


to be honest
i really dont think people should be inspired by me
this sounds super lame but idc
i get siked on people who get me siked
even if they arent good.. if their trying i get hyped
panda,a7,jake,emily,all them are super tight and make me want to fs

but theres other people with bad additudes who really embaress me
and make me not want to be part of the scene
=/

So pretty much...

Wheres the love at?

To be honest, the skateboarding community as a whole has pretty much been falling to pieces for a while. It's all about what clothes you wear, what deck you skate, etc. People seem to be forgetting what it's really about. :(

I think I'm too new to add to this discussion but I will say this, when I signed up the other day, I received the warmest welcome I've ever had anywhere and have received helpful answers to all the 'newbie' questions i've PMed to people. As an avsolute newb, i feel very welcome here :)

Yeah I haven't been here for long either, but this pretty much sums up my experience. People have been nice, and they've been helpful. I like this place!

I read back through it and you're right. It wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered. And as for yourself Tyler, as you've just demonstrated here, you are probably one of the best people here when it comes to informing someone of anything.

True dat. Throw Sidewinders FTW!